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India launches first direct container freight train to Nepal, carrying 1,225 tonnes of canola from Kolkata port
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The Indian Express
The new broad gauge line between Jogbani-Biratnagar (18.60 km) was inaugurated in June 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
(Credit: Indian Railways)The Indian Railways has launched the first ever direct commercial container freight train to Nepal, in a move aimed at boosting rail-based cross-border freight movement.
Officials said the first container freight train, comprising 40 wagons and carrying a consignment of 1,225 tonnes canola, completed its journey from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar customs yard in Nepal on July 23.
The cross-border train operation is built on the revised India-Nepal Rail Transit Protocol and the completion of the broad-gauge line between Jogbani (Bihar, India) and Biratnagar (Nepal).
Both the countries had interchanged a Letter of Exchange (LoE), amending the protocol to the treaty of transit between India and Nepal in November 2025.